Lieutenant Vladimir Dubrovsky (Rudolph Valentino), a handsome Cossack officer, serving in the Imperial Guard of the Russian army, catches the eye of lusty Czarina Catherine II (Louise Dresser) when he borrows the Czarina's horse, and rescues Mascha (Vilma Bánky), a charming beautiful young lady, and her Aunt Aurelia (Carrie Clark Ward) trapped in a runaway carriage just beyond the palace gates. Vladimir is delighted when the Czarina offers to make him a general, but horrified when she tries to seduce him. After Vladimir spurns her advances and flees, deserting from the Imperial Guard, the Czarina puts out a warrant for his arrest, and a price on his head, dead or alive. Soon afterwards, he receives a letter from his father (Spottiswoode Aitken) informing him that the evil nobleman Kyrilla Troekouroff (James A. Marcus) has taken over his lands and is terrorizing the countryside. Hurrying home, Vladimir learns that his father has died. When Vladimir learns that his father has been persecuted and killed, this renegade vows to seek vengeance on the man who stole his family's land, avenge his father and help the victimized peasantry. Vladimir dons a black mask and becomes the Black Eagle, a Robin Hood figure-type masked vigilante outlaw. Discovering that Kyrilla is Mascha's father, he takes the place of a tutor who has been sent for from France, but not previously seen by anyone in the household. Vladimir is thus able to become part of Kyrilla's household. He is after vengeance, but instead falls in love with charming Mascha. As Vladimir's love for Mascha grows, he becomes more and more reluctant to continue seeking revenge against her father, and the two eventually flee the Troekouroff estate. Vladimir is captured by the Czarina's men, but the Czarina, once determined to have him executed, has a last-minute change of heart, and she allows Vladimir, given a new French name, and Mascha to leave Russia for Paris. A 1925 American black & white silent swashbuckler drama film directed by Clarence Brown, produced by John W. Considine Jr., and Joseph M. Schenck, adapted screenplay of Hans Kraly and George Marion Jr., based on the posthumously published 1841 novel "Dubrovsky" by Alexander Pushkin, starring Rudolph Valentino, Vilma Bánky, and Louise Dresser. An astonishing, superbly crafted film, breathtakingly shot by George Barnes, with the genius of Clarence Brown (every scene is orchestrated with fine attention to detail, excitement, and entertainment), the costumes of Adrian (which are intentionally not quite of the right period having a distinctive 1920's feel), and the impressive production design of William Cameron Menzies. Truly a masterpiece, including no small number of extras. Valentino's last few films had not been particularly well received, but "The Eagle" proved a strong comeback for him, gaining good reviews from the critics and a success at the box-office, although it was not as successful as his next movie, "Son of the Sheik" (1926). Valentino wanted to project a more aggressively masculine image in this film, so in order to establish this with the cast and crew, he sent home stunt double Nicky Caruso and did the spectacular opening stunt - leaping onto a horse and chasing down a runaway carriage - himself. Black Eagle does not exist in the novel and was inspired by the performance of Douglas Fairbanks as Zorro in "The Mark of Zorro" (1920). The film was originally titled "The Black Eagle", but was changed when it was discovered that Douglas Fairbanks was producing the similarly-titled "The Black Pirate" (1926). This period romp is remembered for its extended tracking shot of the food-laden table in the banquet scene. Director Clearance Brown created a memorable movie moment when he moved the camera from one end of a banquet table to the other in a gliding, airborne shot. He explained, "There was one elaborate shot I did in The Eagle; a long tracking shot down a banquet table. The camera started with a character eating at one end. Then it traveled along the middle of the table - which must have been sixty feet long. To get the camera in that position was very difficult; no equipment existed to do it. So we made two perambulators. We put one on each side of the table, and we constructed a bridge, with stress beams so it was rigid. Then we dropped a crosspiece and fastened the camera from the top, so the bottom of the camera would travel along the top of the table. I liked the effect so well I did it again in Anna Karenina." Like many silents this film is not about its plot but about the minutia of human behaviour and emotion. The moment when Valentino touches Banky's neck you can feel her thrill - her eyes moisten with passion. This is the kind of moment that the talkies had trouble with - words spoil the ecstasy of first touch - as many of the silent screen's great lovers found when they entered talkies. But Valentino did not live to make a talkie - and his legend is probably grateful.

• published: 09 Mar 2023
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